MCC Business Directory and Resource Guide 25
“ He had a vision that was far past where we were as a chamber ,” said Herald Bulletin Publisher Beverly Joyce , who chairs the chamber ’ s board of directors . “ He felt like it would be easier for us to build a business base and find success as a chamber if we ’ re successful as a community .”
Whitson ’ s view of what defines a community , Joyce said , has been a driving force behind the organization ’ s expanded vision for economic development and civic improvement throughout the county . It ’ s a vision borne from what some saw as a question of whether the chamber would survive .
In the mid-2010s , the chamber ’ s membership had dwindled to its lowest number in 50 years . Other than occasional formal networking luncheons and other in-person events , there were few activities designed to entice business owners – whether established or starting out – to plug in to the community around them .
“ Losing the chamber would have been catastrophic to an already downtrodden business community ,” Kris Zinszer , the board ’ s former chair , told an audience in March . “ We weren ’ t going to let that happen .”
Gradually , the organization undertook a significant revamping of its board , rethinking its values and core mission and rebuilding much of its programming . As a member of the Madison County Council from 2015 to 2018 , Whitson noticed the effort .
“ To me , the chamber value proposition in the midand late 2010s had really focused on just the in-person events ,” Whitson said . “ We needed a value proposition that touched every business … so that we ’ re focusing on the business community holistically .”
With his background in local government , one of Whitson ’ s first steps as chamber president was to begin augmenting the organization ’ s voice in policymaking discussions . The chamber ’ s annual D . C . Fly-In – in which Whitson and several board members and local business leaders travel to Washington , D . C ., to meet in person with members of the state ’ s congressional delegation to discuss the county ’ s business needs – is one product of that initiative .
The chamber has also added partnerships with the Flagship Enterprise Center and InerG Impact , in part to emphasize the importance of giving small businesses the support needed to establish themselves and attract workers to the area . Collaborations with local high schools and vocational centers are also a vital part of the chamber ’ s programming , much of which is predicated on addressing challenges that many companies have yet to see , according to Whitson .
“ We ’ re in a space that we ’ ve never really been in , and that is talent attraction ,” Whitson said . “ How are we representing ourselves not just outside the geographic boundaries of Madison County , but how are we representing ourselves outside the state of Indiana ?”
To summarize his outlook for what he ’ d like to see the organization accomplish in the year ahead , Whitson turned to an expression familiar to many of the chamber ’ s manufacturing members .
“ There ’ s a phrase used in manufacturing a lot , kaizen , which means continuous improvement ,” he said . “ We ’ re always focusing on , OK , that was nice . What are we going to do to best that and to continually improve ?”
In other words : What ’ s next ?